The present invention relates to a telephone system for voice recognition which permits verbal dialing of a telephone number by recognizing the voice of the user of the telephone system.
An existing private branch exchange (PBX) or a key service unit (KSU) has the main unit equipped with a control section and a verbal telephone directory data storage section, both being provided for the purpose of fulfilling a voice recognition function. Verbal dialing of a telephone number can be effected by verbally accessing the verbal telephone directory data storage section over the telephone.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an existing key service unit having a voice recognition function. A main unit 1 comprises a system control section 12, and the system control section 12 is connected to a station circuit interface 13 to be connected to a station circuit, an extension interface 14 to be connected to the key service unit 2, a voice recognition control section 15 which fulfills a voice recognition function, and a verbal telephone directory memory section 16.
The key service unit 2 further comprises a power supply section 21, a handset 22, a call circuit section 23 connected to the handset 22, and a main unit interface 24 for connecting the call circuit section 23 to the main unit 1. The main unit interface 24 is connected to a key matrix section 25, an LED (light-emitting diode) display 26, and an LCD (liquid-crystal display) 27.
With the foregoing circuit configuration, when the key service unit 2 is connected to the main unit 1, a d.c. power supply to be used by the key service unit 2 is generated. When the handset 22 of the key service unit 2 is picked up from a hook and dial buttons are pressed, the key matrix 25 detects data related to the thus-dialed telephone number and sends the dial data to the system control section 12 by way of the main unit interface 24 and the extension interface 14.
If the dial data requires a local call within the station, the system control section 12 connects a communication channel of the station interface 13 to a communication channel of the extension interface 14, enabling the user to make a call from the hand set 22 by way of the main unit interface 24 and the call circuit section 23 of the key service unit 2.
In a case where information relating to the state of the call at this time, the system control section 12 provided in the main unit 1 controls the LED display 26 and the LCD 27 by way of the extension interface 14 and the main unit interface 24 so as to display predetermined information.
Next, the voice recognition function will be described. When a key of the key service unit 2 used for bringing the key service unit into a voice recognition mode is pressed, the key matrix 25 detects data relating to the thus-pressed key and transmits the thus-detected data to the system control section 12 by way of the min unit interface 24 and the extension interface 14.
The system control section 12 connects the voice recognition control section 15 to the key service unit 2 and sounds a beep by way of the extension interface 14, the main unit interface 24, the call circuit 23, and the handset 22 to let the user know the connection. Further, pre-registered display data are transmitted to and displayed on the LCD 27 by way of the extension interface 14 and the main unit interface 24, thereby urging the user to perform a verbal input operation.
The user performs a verbal input operation according to instructions. The thus-input signal is compared with data which are stored in the verbal telephone directory memory section 16 beforehand and which respond to unspecified calling parties. If there is a match between the input signal and the data, the voice recognition control section 15 transmits dial information relating to the name of the calling party and dials a telephone number corresponding to the phone-number information. In this way, it is possible even for the existing key service unit to fulfill the voice recognition function.
As mentioned previously, since the existing PBX or KSU has the control section for fulfilling the voice recognition function, the voice recognition function of the PBX or KSU is set so as to respond to unspecified calling parties because of a necessity to allow all the users of the KSU to make a phone call, resulting in an insufficient rate of recognition of every user. Further, another problem of the existing PBX or KSU is that an operating guide is provided for the user only in the form of a message on the LCD and a beep sound, which makes it difficult for the user to use the PBX or KSU.
The present invention has been conceived to solve the foregoing problems in the existing PBX or KSU, and the object of the present invention is to provide a telephone system for voice recognition which has superior voice recognition performance and operability.
A telephone system for voice recognition according to the present invention is characterized by the feature that the telephone system to be connected to a main unit of a private branch exchange or a key service unit comprises a verbal telephone directory memory section for storing information relating to the voice of the user (hereinafter often referred to as xe2x80x9cvoice informationxe2x80x9d) and information relating to telephone numbers (hereinafter often referred to as xe2x80x9cphone-number informationxe2x80x9d), a control section which recognizes user""s input voice by means of the voice information and which controls a dialing operation on the basis of the phone-number information, and a predetermined guidance memory section which stores instruction data used for giving instructions to the user in the form of voice or an indication.
By virtue of the present invention, there is provided a telephone system for voice recognition having superior voice recognition performance and operability.